Oobleck Madness







Broad Question

What effects how long does oobleck stay solid?

Specific Question

How does dropping a brick from different heights effect how long oobleck stays solid?

Hypothesis

If you drop a brick from 60 centimeters it will float on oobleck longer than if you droped it at 0 cm.

Graph of Hypothesis


cadr12-3hypothesis.jpg.jpg


Variables

Independent Variable: Dropping height if brick.

Dependent Variable: How long oobleck stays solid.


Variables That Need To Be Controlled: Dropping from correct height


Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

Oobleck: Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid that with enough pressure applied it turns into a solid.
Viscosity: Is the measurement of how much resistance a fluid has.
"World Book Online Reference Center | Online Reference Book| Online Encyclopedia."World Book. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.



General Plan

  • Where will you conduct this experiment? If not at school where are you going to put your experiment so that it doesn't bother anyone, you can assure it won't be disrupted by pets or babies, and it will be safe from changes in temperature or movement? I will do this experiment at home. I will ask my teacher if I can keep it in one of his back rooms.
  • What will you actually be doing? For example, measuring something, timing something.
  • What are some potential problems you may encounter and how will you solve them?
  • What are the safety and environmental concerns?

Potential Problems And Solutions

Dropping mechanism not working. I would fix the mechanism asap.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns


Dropping brick on foot. Be extra careful

Experimental Design


cadr12-3setup.jpg
Setup (without oobleck)

Resources and Budget Table

Item
Number needed
Where I will get this
Cost
Cornstarch
25
Hannaford
$1.49-1.99
Brick
1
Home
$0.00
Container
1
Home
$0.00
Water
20 cups
Home
$0.00




















Detailed Procedure

  1. Make oobleck 1 part water 2 1/2 parts cornstarch
  2. Fill container with oobleck.
  3. Set dropping mechanism at 0 cm top of oobleck
  4. Put the brick on the mechanism
  5. Video tape drop with camera.
  6. Look at timer in slow motion of drop for time until half submerged.
  7. Repeat steps 3-6 five times
  8. Add 2.5 cm. every five times until you get to 20 cm.
  9. Repeat step 7 for every height

Diagram


Photo List


cadr12-3drop.jpgcadr12-3sinking.jpg

Time Line

cadr12-3timeline.jpg.2.jpg


Data Table

Height
Average
Drop 1
Drop 2
Drop 3
Drop 4
Drop 5
0 cm
1
1.2
1.2
.7
.9
1
10 cm
1.3
1.2
1.3
1.3
1.3
1.2
20 cm
1.1
1
1.2
1.2
1.1
1.1
30 cm
1.2
1.4
1.1
1.2
1.2
1
40 cm
1.2
1.4
1.1
1.1
1.3
1.1
50 cm
1.2
1.2
1.4
1.3
1.1
1.1
60 cm
1.3
1.2
1.1
1.2
1.5
1.4





Data Analysis

All Raw Data


Graphs


cadr12-3rawdata.jpg

Photos


Results


Conclusion

The data that I collected did not support my hypothesis. My data shows that no matter what height you drop a brick from it wont make a difference. We can see this because the average drop time for 0 cm was 1 second and the time for 60 cm was 1.3 seconds the difference was .3 seconds. The mean of the data was 1.2 seconds it appeared 3 times for the heights; 30, 40, and 50 cm. 10 cm had an average of 1.3 seconds which is the same average time as 60 cm. The average time for the all was 1.2 seconds.

Discussion

My project could have been better in different ways. My data could be inaccurate in small amounts. The mixture could have changed throughout the project it could have changed because I would get my hands wet so I could get the brick out of the oobleck easier so the water on my hands cold have affected the viscosity of the oobleck. The way I was dropping the brick could have affected the data, it could have affected it because the height of the drop might have been off. How the brick landed could have affected the data. If the brick hit flat it would be a flat surface hitting the oobleck rather than a point hitting it. The way I collected the data may have been off. I used a stop watch to time how long it took for the brick to become completely submerged. I started the timer when the brick hit the top of the oobleck and stopped it when the top of the brick was covered.

Benefit to Community and/or Science



Background Research

Oobleck got its name because in the story Bartholomew and the Oobleck the story is about a boy named Bartholomew has to save his kingdom from a sticky substance called oobleck, the way Dr. Seuss described it fit the way oobleck behaves. A non-Newtonian fluid is a fluid that does not have the same viscosity as a regular fluid you can't use math to predict the rate of flow. A Newtonian fluid is a fluid that you can use math to predict the rate of flow.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newtonian_fluid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Newtonian_fluid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_and_the_Oobleck

Abstract


I came upon this project a short while after we played with oobleck in our class. I was thinking, what affects the solidity of oobleck? I thought if some different things the first thing was this project. If an object is dropped at different heights does it affect how long oobleck stays solid. When I brought this idea to my teacher he said "That's a good idea but it could be improved on." I thought about how I could make it better so I thought I could drop a brick into a tub of oobleck and time how long it takes to sink into the oobleck.